Tell the "boss" bad news?
Mike,
Quote:
So, we'd edit any bad news. This editing left the highest commands unaware of many of the problems brewing and simmering on the ground.
This is not an issue unique to the US military intelligence community and I can recall, in the Afghan context, a marked reluctance to be polite, to permit analysts reporting back to the UK the extent of the drug trade at the begining of our involvement (2001-2002). Such reporting was not appreciated by the politicians, so stop.
There are a few notable, public examples of that happening in UK law enforcement; for example a warning of mounting tension on Broadwater Farm, an urban flashpoint, was "edited" and within days there was a lethal riot.
How to stop this practice has been debated in the academic community, for example in the journal 'Intelligence and National Security'. I cannot recall a "consumer" or a senior officer commenting on the issue. A direction from the top 'Tell me the bad news always' is needed.
davidbfpo